{"id":99254,"date":"2025-10-19T05:22:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T05:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=99254"},"modified":"2025-10-19T05:22:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T05:22:55","slug":"mystery-deepens-after-missing-schoolgirl-found-dead-in-pop-star-d4vds-tesla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=99254","title":{"rendered":"Mystery deepens after missing schoolgirl found dead in pop star D4vd\u2019s Tesla"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The day after a body was found in his car in Hollywood, singer D4vd was belting his TikTok hit Romantic Homicide \u2013 a brooding breakup song about killing an ex with no regret \u2013 to a sold-out crowd in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

The US recording artist had self-launched his music career from his sister\u2019s closet while working a part-time gig at Starbucks. It led him to viral fame, millions of followers online, and a global tour.<\/p>\n

But all of it came to an abrupt halt last month with the discovery of a severely decomposed body in the front trunk of his Tesla.<\/p>\n

The corpse was identified as that of 15-year-old runaway Celeste Rivas Hernandez.<\/p>\n

A month later, mystery still surrounds the teen\u2019s death, as well as her relationship to the 20-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke.<\/p>\n

D4vd performs on Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Deep dives into his macabre oeuvre \u2013 which is peppered with references to death, remembrance, violence and bloody motifs \u2013 have led some to question if life was imitating art and vice versa.<\/p>\n

The young singer has yet to publicly comment on the case or the grim discovery in his car. His spokesperson has only said that that he is \u201cfully cooperating with authorities\u201d and he has since hired a prominent criminal defence attorney who has represented celebrities such as Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan, Kanye West and Britney Spears.<\/p>\n

Representatives for the singer \u2013 including his lawyer Blair Berk, Universal Music Group, Darkroom Records and Sony Music Publishing \u2013 did not respond to the BBC\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Rivas Hernandez\u2019s cause of death has yet to be determined.<\/p>\n

The county\u2019s medical examiner has said her body was \u201cseverely decomposed\u201d when it was found and has deferred making a ruling on how she died \u2013 an investigation they say could take months.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Police have also not named a suspect or person of interest in case, even weeks after discovering her body.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Police Department has not offered many details in the case or the probe, calling it an open death investigation. The department would not comment on multiple questions posed by the BBC about the case, the investigation and any connections the singer may have to Rivas Hernandez.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just such a strange one,\u201d Neama Rahmani, a former prosecutor and Los Angeles attorney, told the BBC. \u201cIt keeps getting more bizarre each day that goes on without an arrest.\u201d<\/p>\n

That lack of information has also seemed to fuel intrigue. Fans, true-crime enthusiasts and internet sleuths have launched their own inquiries, locking in on details that appear to connect the teen girl with the gamer-turned-songwriter, who was once heralded by GQ as a \u201cMouthpiece for Gen-Z Heartache\u201d.<\/p>\n

A runaway teen found dead in a Tesla<\/h2>\n

Rivas Hernandez \u2013 who lived about 75 miles away from where her body was discovered \u2013 had last been reported missing by her family in April 2024, but it was not the first time she had run away from their Lake Elsinore home.<\/p>\n

A first-generation daughter of immigrant parents from El Salvador, neighbours recognised her as a girl who would visit the corner store almost daily to buy candy and soda,\u00a0according to the Los Angeles Times.<\/p>\n

She first went missing on Valentine\u2019s Day 2024, and her family filed a missing persons report the next day.<\/p>\n

Posters of her face were put up in her neighbourhood and her mother posted pleas on Facebook in Spanish for her return \u2013 public overtures that apparently irked the teen.<\/p>\n

Over the next two years, her parents would file at least two more missing-persons reports.<\/p>\n

Her family and friends told the newspaper that every time Rivas Hernandez ran away, she would eventually return and blend back into her life as a middle schooler.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

When the teens\u2019 remains were found in a bag in D4vd\u2019s Tesla on 8 September, the medical examiner said that she was wearing a tube top, size small black leggings and jewellery, including a yellow metal stud earring and a yellow metal chain bracelet.<\/p>\n

She also had a tattoo that read \u201cShhh\u2026\u201d on her index finger \u2013 a marking nearly identical to that on the pop singer\u2019s own index finger.<\/p>\n

The decomposition of her body indicated that she had already been \u201cdeceased for several weeks\u201d, investigators said.<\/p>\n

Her family, who described her as a beloved daughter, sister, cousin and friend, has said they are \u201cheartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss\u201d. They have since solicited money on a crowdfunding website to pay for her funeral, which took place earlier this month.<\/p>\n

A singer on the precipice of main-stream fame<\/h2>\n

D4vd\u2019s rise to stardom \u2013 fuelled by TikTok and online gaming \u2013 is a paradigm for his generation.<\/p>\n

Growing up near Houston, Texas, he was home-schooled and said he exclusively listened to gospel music until he was 13. He became an avid Fortnite player in 2017 and launched his music career using pop songs to soundtrack gameplay montages that he posted on YouTube.<\/p>\n

He started making his own music when he ran into copyright hurdles, beginning by recording songs on The BandLab app in 2021 and uploading his work on SoundCloud.<\/p>\n

Soon, he saw his music breaking through with thousands of listens. He then released what would become his two biggest hits thus far: Romantic Homicide and Here With Me.<\/p>\n

The songs went viral on TikTok and led to billions of streams on Spotify, where he has amassed 33 million monthly listeners.<\/p>\n

He signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released his debut EP, Petals and Thorns, in 2023. That same year, he landed on Variety\u2019s Young Hollywood list and opened for SZA on her SOS tour.<\/p>\n

Last spring, he made his Coachella debut \u2013 known as the festival for up-and-coming talent to break into mainstream fame. He was also commissioned by Fortnite \u2013 which he has said shaped his story as an artist \u2013 to create the game\u2019s first official anthem, Locked & Loaded.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

A discovery that broke a family and halted a career<\/h2>\n

But this ascent to fame came to a pause when his Tesla was towed to an impoundment lot and\u00a0authorities found a bag inside the front trunk\u00a0that contained Rivas Hernandez\u2019s decomposing remains after someone complained about a foul smell.<\/p>\n

His world tour was cancelled within days of the discovery, and Sony Music Publishing reportedly suspended promotion of his sophomore album.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles police soon raided the posh Hollywood Hills mansion where the singer was living, just blocks from where his Tesla had been towed.<\/p>\n

US retailer Hollister and footwear giant Crocs dropped D4vd from marketing campaigns and Telepat\u00eda singer Kali Uchis announced she was taking down their collaboration, Crashing.<\/p>\n

But while his career ground to a screeching halt,authorities have been silent on the investigation into Rivas Hernandez\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Investigators have not released any new information in the case since 29 September.<\/p>\n

The agency also said that it is\u00a0still unclear whether there is any criminal culpability beyond the concealment of her body.<\/p>\n

Footage of the Tesla where Rivas Hernandez\u2019s body was found<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While online sleuths have been quick to speculate, legal experts say that there is still much we don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have this connection to David that seems pretty strong,\u201d Mr Rahmani, the former prosecutor, told the BBC. \u201cThere is a lot of smoke but look, he could be absolutely innocent and it could be someone else who had access to his vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Rahmani said while there are many questions in this case, the biggest for him is \u201cwhat is taking the LAPD so long\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey haven\u2019t released any real information,\u201d he said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t a good look for the LAPD and it\u2019s a terrible look for D4vd.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that a case like this has added pressures: it involves a teen girl\u2019s death, it has garnered global headlines, and the investigation involves a celebrity.<\/p>\n

Mr Rahmani noted that technology and potential for video footage is likely to be a \u201ctreasure trove\u201d for investigators. Telsa vehicles come with advanced technology that tracks vehicles, notifies users when things like the trunk is open and are also outfitted with a slew of cameras as part of its Sentry Mode systems.<\/p>\n

On top of this, the Hollywood home where he was living also had cameras. When authorities searched the home last month, investigators took a DVR that stores video and other data from the surveillance system.<\/p>\n

Malden Trifunovic, the owner of the Hollywood Hills home D4vd was renting, has told the BBC that he has hired a private investigator to help uncover what might have happened inside his multi-million-dollar abode.<\/p>\n

D4vd\u2019s manager Josh Marshall, the founder of Mogul Vision, rented the home for D4vd and has distanced himself from the singer. He vehemently denied rumours that he is connected to the death investigation.<\/p>\n

The widening mystery<\/h2>\n

In addition to the mystery surrounding the cause of Rivas Hernandez\u2019s death, it is still unclear what relationship the teenager had with the 20-year-old singer.<\/p>\n

Rivas Hernandez would have turned 15 the day before her body was found by police.<\/p>\n

In California, the age of consent is 18.<\/p>\n

Family, friends and those who knew her have told local media that she had been dating someone named David and said he was a music artist.<\/p>\n

A former middle-school science teacher blamed her last attempt to run away from home, in the spring of 2024, on her dating a music artist she\u2019d met online.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s been missing since I taught her,\u201d the teacher said in a viral video after Rivas Hernandez\u2019s body was identified.<\/p>\n

Online sleuths have also connected her to the singer in a number of ways, from their matching tattoos to photos he posted online that appear to show them together.<\/p>\n

A close up of D4vd\u2019s tattoo on his finger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But D4vd has not addressed the rumours, nor have police.<\/p>\n

Like many who don\u2019t follow indie pop music, his landlord Mr Trifunovic said he had never heard of D4vd until news broke about the discovery. He didn\u2019t even know it was D4vd who was renting his home because the lease had been signed by the singer\u2019s manager, Mr Marshall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI share the same anxiety and desire to understand what happened to poor Celeste as everyone else does,\u201d Mr Trifunovic told the BBC.<\/p>\n

Although he said he trusts the LAPD to conduct a thorough investigation, he too, is anxious for information.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is absolutely no question that a crime was committed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe did not place herself in the front trunk of the Tesla or move the vehicle to where it was found.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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